Absolutely. Switch programs at any time. Members receive access to all training programs and tools for less than $8 a month.

Do you have an app for the iPhone or Android?

Although we don't have an app yet, the EXOS member's area is completely compatible with the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Android devices. Access your workout at the gym or pull up your nutrition plan at a grocery store or restaurant, for example. For easy access, bookmark this link: https://my.coreperformance.com/#/gameplan/today

Which training program should I choose?

There are dozens of training programs specifically designed to help you perform better in a variety of lifestyle and sports goals.

The purpose of each program is indicated by its name. For instance, the program labeled "Golf" is designed to help you play better golf. Want to improve your golf game but you don't like to lift weights or don't want to ditch your current weight workout? Go with "Golf - without weight lifting."

Can't find your sport or goal in our list of programs? Chances are, we have a program that will benefit you since many sports share similar skills sets and physical demands.

Below, you'll find our recommendations for the most applicable programs for some common sports and activities that we do not yet have specific programs for.

Your readiness to train depends on physical ability and maturity level, but 14 is most often an appropriate age to start a EXOS program. And you're never too old. The "Decrease Pain/Tightness" program can be very beneficial to older adults. You should always consult a physician before starting any activity.

Personalized Training and Nutrition Programs

Where do I sign up?

The first step is to sign up for a free EXOS membership. (You can do that here.) Then, when you are ready to start your own personalized training and nutrition program, go to your Workout tab or click here.

What equipment do I need to perform a training program?

Some workouts require gym equipment, while others feature only light equipment (dumbbells, foam roll, etc.). The equipment needed is noted in each workout, and training equipment can be found in our store. Even if you have access to full gym equipment, you may want to consider purchasing some self-massage and flexibility tools, such as a foam roll, massage stick, and stretch rope, so that you can do regeneration sessions at home. Other at-home staples include mini bands, resistance bands, and adjustable dumbbells.

The equipment in each workout is chosen to help you see results, but if you don’t have a piece of equipment, that shouldn’t limit your ability to perform the workout. If you don’t have access to a piece of equipment, you can use the “exchange movement” button in your workout to swap in an alternative. You can also keep the exercise, but modify it slightly. For instance, click here to learn how to modify medicine ball throws.

What should I do if I miss a workout?

If you miss a workout, simply perform the session when you're able to. If you miss more than a month of workouts, return to the foundation phase of your program. You can manually adjust the phase of your program by clicking the "Change Program Phase" link at the top of the progress bar. This may extend the total length of your program, but you'll see better results by following the full progressive program.

How long should I rest between sets and exercises?

There are no rest periods specifically prescribed in our online training programs. Keep your rest between sets and exercises to a minimum, but don’t rush. If you feel like you’re unable to maintain proper technique, you may need to rest briefly or decrease the amount of weight that you’re lifting. That’s OK. As your movement quality, strength, and overall fitness improve, you’ll be able to cut down on rest time, with the goal of moving swiftly between exercises.

While you may be accustomed to resting between sets and exercises, the unique way in which the circuits, or groupings of exercises, are designed in our online training programs allows you to perform an entire workout with minimal rest periods. For instance, you might do a bench press followed by a stretch and then a move for your lower body. The way in which exercises are ordered minimizes fatigue and allows you to perform more work in less time. What’s more, you’ll do stretches or stability moves that complement strength-building movements, helping you get the most out of every exercise you do. All told, this approach helps keep your training sessions efficient and effective.

The nutrition tool within your training program generates a meal plan based on your personal evaluation and target weight goal. Plus, if you don't like a suggest meal or snack, the "exchange" feature allows you to swap it out for another one you'll enjoy more without veering off your plan. You also have the ability to save "favorite" meals to use on a different day.

In addition, you'll have access to your personal nutrional blueprint that with a full breakdown of your plan and your grocery list generator for when it's time to go food shopping.

How much weight should I lift?

It depends. A good rule of thumb for your weight training is to use a weight that’s challenging but allows you to complete all your repetitions (reps) with proper form. If the last 1-2 reps aren’t hard, it’s too light; if the speed, or tempo, of your reps drops off significantly during the set or you can’t complete all your reps, it’s too heavy (note exceptions below). You want to challenge yourself with weight without sacrificing technique—guys often go too heavy; women tend to go too light at first. Most importantly, make it a goal to improve the quality of your movement with every repetition. When you move better, you perform better.

We always recommend repeating a program for a second round. The first time is much more of a developmental and learning experience. The second time through you'll see definitive changes because you spend less time learning the system. We also suggest retaking your evaluation at this point, because your personal stats such as weight, activity level, and training schedule may have changed since you began your program.

What is ESD and ESD Zones?

Energy System Development (ESD) is the cardiovascular component of your training program. Your body has different energy systems and ESD trains them all.

The zones are heart rate-based.

The Yellow Zone is low-level aerobic training, which is great for recovery and warm-up intervals.

The Green Zone is a medium intensity level that is great for building work capacity and leg strength.

The Red Zone is a high intensity section that will challenge your anaerobic threshold (where the body goes from primarily fat utilization to carbohydrate utilization).

Using a combination of these zones progressed over a 12-week training phase will help you reach your goals. A heart rate monitor will come in handy to monitor your heart rate as you progress through each of these zones during your training sessions.

Understanding the Color-Coded ESD Bars

When you see a single bar indicating a time duration (e.g. 3 minutes), keep your heart rate in that zone.

When you see a progressive set of bars with the same amount of time (e.g. 30 seconds), progressively work towards the higher end range of that heart rate zone.

When you see very short intervals (e.g. 5 seconds), exert the power needed for that zone, then go easy to let your heart rate recover. For instance, with a 5-second burst in the Red zone, you would work at an all-out effort for 5 seconds. Your heart rate would not be in the Red zone initally, and that's OK. After a series of 5-second sprints, your heart rate will gradually climb into the Red Zone. Likewise, your heart rate may not return to the Yellow Zone during an extremely brief rest period, but your goal should be to go at an easy enough effort to lower your heart rate towards that zone.

Which heart rate zones should I use?

The specialists at EXOS continually refine the ESD component of the training programs to make it more personalized and effective. That means zones may vary between platforms and will evolve overtime. For instance, the percentages used to determine heart rate zones differ between some of the Core Performance books and TeamEXOS.com programs versus the ESD used at EXOS facilities.

The books use a wider range of percentages to determine zones. Zones used at EXOS facilities (using VO2 tests to calculate) are more personalized, tighter zones. The gap between zones 1 and 2 is tighter online than in the books, so the online programs are closer to EXOS facility methodology in this respect. Since the book and online programs use the 220-age formula to calculate maximum heart rate, they’re not as personalized as ESD at EXOS facilities. But know that all of these variations of ESD zones have been shown to be effective with hard work and consistency, and we’ll continue to work on delivering the best ESD online, in print, and at facilities.

Will my training program advance to the next phase automatically?

If you are performing the EXOS Endurance or EXOS Essentials training program, your program will not advance automatically. When you feel you are ready for the next step, click on the ‘Advance Workout Stage’ button above your progress bar. All of the other sport and lifestyle training programs will automatically advance to the next phase and stage on their own.

Throughout your strength circuits, you’ll come across stretches and stability exercises. We call these complementary exercises because they complement the movements they're paired with and help improve the quality of the movement pattern being trained, helping you move more efficiently, bust through plateaus and prevent the onset on aches, pain, and injuries. They also provide time to actively recover from the bout of work you just completed, so you can maximize your time spent in the gym and effectively increase the density of your training session. An example of a complementary exercise would be a chest stretch performed after a set of bench presses.

How can I perform circuits in a busy gym?

When possible, take a minute to set up your circuit stations before beginning your workout. Quickly scan the list of equipment you’ll need and set up your training space so that you can move efficiently from one exercise to another, minimizing your rest between exercises.

When should I switch my foot position for “split stance” exercises?

Some exercises you may encounter in EXOS training programs are performed in a split stance, meaning one foot is a couple feet in front of your other foot. In a high split stance, your knees are slightly bent, while a low split stance means that your back knee is just inches off the ground. For any exercise in which you’re in a split stance and performing an upper-body move, such as an overhead press or arm curl, you can switch foot positions—placing the opposite foot forward—either halfway through your set or after each set if your workout calls for an even number of sets. Either way, you’ll use each stance equally to help keep your body balanced.

What do you think of [x] supplement?

We often receive questions asking for our thoughts on a particular brand or type of supplement. Unfortunately, we can’t make specific supplement recommendations to individuals, each with unique needs and health histories, through our Customer Support service. To learn what our resident nutritionists have to say about a variety of supplements, visit our Supplement section here.

Goals, Tracking, and Reports

Why is my Reports page blank?

Don't see any graphs on your Reports page? This is most likely because you haven't filled out your trackers yet. Head to your Home screen and start entering your health and performance stats. Once we have this data, we'll be able to show you your progress.

How do I set/change my goal?

You can change your goal by clicking the "Choose New Goal" button on your homepage or by clicking here. If you’re using a training program and would like to switch to a new program, click on the ‘Change Program’ link above the name of your program or go to your Account section here.

What's the best time of day to fill out my trackers?

Just try to stay as consistent as possible with whatever time of the day you pick. For example, if you like to fill them out when you first log on to your computer in the morning, stick with that. If you’d rather fill them out after dinner, that’s great too. By staying consistent, the graphs in your Reports section will be more accurate over time and the trends and progress you see will be more valuable.

Books, DVDs, Store

Do I need to be a member to purchase items from the store?

No—the store is open to everyone. Signing up at the store is just a way to store your information for more convenient shopping. By creating an account you can keep a “wish list”, save billing and shipping information, look at your order history, and easily manage your account.

What is your return policy?

You may return most new, unopened items to us within 30 days of delivery for a full refund if it is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.). We'll provide an ARS ticket for the the return shipping of the item to our Returns Center. Contact us at (877) 225-7275, or email support@TeamEXOS.com for more information on returns.

Items that are opened or returned more than 30 days after delivery may receive a partial refund. Contact us at (877) 225-7275, or email support@TeamEXOS.com for our Refunds policy.

If you received a faulty item and need to exchange it for the same item, contact us at (877) 225-7275 or email support@TeamEXOS.com to receive an ARS ticket and refund upon arrival in our Returns Center.

Please note that it takes us 3 to 5 business days to process returns once they arrive at our Returns Center.

What is the correct size medicine ball or stability ball for me?

Physioball Physioballs, also known as a Swiss, stability, or exercise balls, are one of the most important pieces of equipment in an EXOS training program. To get the most out of your workout, make sure you pick the right size. Remember, a physioball should be firm, not squishy. The rule of thumb is that you should be able to sit on your fully inflated ball and have the middle of your thigh parallel to the floor. If you go one size smaller, you may increase the ball size by adding +5 percent of air.

Medicine Ball For most exercises, a 3-kg ball will be appropriate. If the throws become too easy as you progress through your training program, you can always simply throw the ball harder or pick up a 4-kg ball. Athletes 16 and younger should start with 2-kg ball, which may seem small and too light, but when you start performing the exercises with speed, quality of movement is much more important than the weight of the ball.

Which book is best for me?

To date, there are four books available to help you reach your goals:

Core Performance is a comprehensive view of the Core Performance system. This book helps you develop strength and muscle mass, endurance and a lean body, balance and flexibility, athletic quickness and power.

Core Performance Essentials was developed for people with less time to train because of busy schedules. If you can’t dedicate as many days a week to exercise as you might like, this is the book for you.

Core Performance Endurance is the ideal book to make you a better runner, swimmer, cyclist, triathlete, or athlete in any endurance sport.

Core Performance Golf is a nutrition and training program designed to improve your power, performance, and health on and off the course.

Core Performance Womenis the revolutionary training and nutrition program designed specifically for women, packed with powerful advice, full workout routines, and integrated meal plans.